Turned off to religion?

For most people, their approach to spirituality and their understanding of religion are learned phenomena. When they are children, people first learn about religious practices and beliefs from their parents and religious authority figures. For most of their childhood, though, the spiritual aspects of religion remain beyond their comprehension. As people grow into adults, they begin to directly experience the spiritual aspects of life from their religion and form sources other than religion.

People may not hold the same beliefs in adulthood as they held in childhood. As children, we were told what to believe and told not to question our religion. As adults, we acquired the freedom to question and to choose whatever belief system we wanted (even though the religion of our childhood restricts this freedom). Given the choice of "stay or stray," people often stray from the religion of their childhood because the beliefs they held as children are no longer seen to be relevant or valid in adulthood.

Why are people turned off to and turned away from the religion of their childhood?

Changes in one's attitude towards religion play a pivotal role. Many people characterize organized religion as a system that imposes its rules and regulations not only on spiritual beliefs but also on behavior and thought. When children become adults and begin to make their own life decisions, they may also experience the need to change their belief system. If they were raised in a strict religious environment, the change may be seen as a movement away from a system that imposes many rules and restrictions. If they were raised in a liberal religious environment (or in none at all), the change may be seen as movement towards a system that imposes few rules and restrictions.

The sad fact is that sometimes religion gets in the way of being closer to God rather than facilitating it as it should